Prince William on Graham Norton was the surprise of Friday night’s BBC One line-up. The Prince of Wales walked on unannounced during an Earthshot Prize special on Friday 23 October 2026, and in one sofa slot he revealed his old DJ name, admitted his children are hooked on Celebrity Traitors and owned up to testing whether Ross Kemp was jumpy.
Prince William on the Graham Norton sofa. A first for a working royal.
Aired Friday 23 October on BBC One. On BBC iPlayer now.
Graham Norton had been talking about the Earthshot Prize with Cate Blanchett, Hannah Waddingham and Robert Irwin when he invited William on. The studio audience cheered and gasped, according to 1News. The episode was filmed the day before at Television Centre in London, Hello reported.
What did Prince William say on Graham Norton?
Prince William told Graham Norton that his DJ name was “DJ Xara with an X”, that Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are obsessed with Celebrity Traitors, and that he once touched Ross Kemp to see how he would react. Most of the interview was about the Earthshot Prize, the environmental award he founded in 2020.
- His DJ nameHe wanted to be a policeman, then a DJ, under the name DJ Xara. “It wasn’t good,” he said.
- Celebrity Traitors“Charlotte and Louis are obsessed with it. It’s really good telly.”
- Ross KempHe touched Kemp after the first episode to test his nerves. “Turns out he was really jumpy!”
- Christopher Nolan“I’m a big fan of everything Christopher Nolan does,” he said, naming the Dark Knight films.
- Taylor SwiftHe recalled meeting her at Wembley in June 2024 with Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
- Mistaken for PrinceA man on a visit in Somerset once asked when he would sing Purple Rain.
He also talked about Aston Villa, the football club he has supported for years, and helped judge the Big Red Chair, where audience members tell their best stories. The Celebrity Traitors and Ross Kemp lines come from Hello and LADbible. The DJ name, Taylor Swift and Purple Rain stories come from Hello’s write-up of the episode.
Why was Prince William on The Graham Norton Show?
Prince William went on The Graham Norton Show to promote the Earthshot Prize before its 2026 awards in Mumbai on 17 November. Cate Blanchett, Hannah Waddingham and Robert Irwin, the other guests on the sofa, all have links to the prize.
It’s all about getting excited.
Prince William on the Earthshot Prize, The Graham Norton ShowHe said he set up the prize because he was troubled by the “negativity and doom” around the environment and wanted something more optimistic, ITV News reported. Cate Blanchett sits on the Earthshot Prize Council and called it a “tapestry of solutions”. Robert Irwin is a global ambassador, and Hannah Waddingham hosted the 2023 awards in Singapore.
- Cate BlanchettEarthshot Prize Council member
- Hannah WaddinghamHosted the 2023 awards
- Robert IrwinEarthshot global ambassador
- Jorja SmithPerformed Dancing live
Is Prince William the first royal on Graham Norton?
Prince William is the first working royal to appear on The Graham Norton Show, which launched in 2007. Sarah Ferguson and Lady Glenconner have both sat on the sofa before, but neither is a working member of the Royal Family.
Hello went further and called it the first time a working royal has sat down on a British talk show at all. Lady Glenconner is a former lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret rather than a royal herself.
Has Prince Harry been on Graham Norton?
No. Prince Harry has never been a guest on The Graham Norton Show. He has done US talk shows since stepping back from royal duties in 2020, but not Norton’s BBC sofa.
Norton does have a Prince Harry story. He told Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live that he once bumped into Harry at a nightclub while out with Carrie Fisher, who was determined to meet him, HuffPost reported.
What did Prince William say about Celebrity Traitors?
Prince William said the whole family loves Celebrity Traitors. “I love it, the family love it. Charlotte and Louis are obsessed with it. It’s really good telly,” he told Graham Norton.
He also admitted that after the first episode he touched Ross Kemp to see how he would react. Kemp was murdered in episode seven on Thursday 22 October, the night William’s interview was filmed. The final is on Friday 30 October, and our Celebrity Traitors tracker has who is left and when it is on.
What was Prince William’s DJ name?
Prince William’s DJ name was DJ Xara, spelled with an X. “I came up with a name, I was called DJ Xara with an X, it wasn’t good,” he told Graham Norton.
He said that before the DJ phase he wanted to be a policeman, which he thought was “quite cool”, 1News reported.
When is the Earthshot Prize 2026?
The Earthshot Prize 2026 Awards Night is on 17 November 2026 in Mumbai, India, the first time the prize has gone to India. Karan Johar is hosting, and it streams worldwide on Prime Video.
Five winners each receive £1 million, across Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate. Shreya Ghoshal is performing, according to the Earthshot Prize, and William has committed to the prize until 2030.
Where can you watch Prince William on Graham Norton?
Prince William’s Graham Norton appearance is on BBC iPlayer now, in series 34, episode five of The Graham Norton Show, first shown on BBC One on Friday 23 October 2026.
The next episode is on Friday 30 October at 10.40 pm, with Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin and Naomi Ackie. Our Graham Norton guide has every guest, week by week.
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This story is based on reporting of the BBC One broadcast by ITV News, Hello, LADbible and 1News. Earthshot Prize details are from earthshotprize.org.